The Fiddler on the Roof

The Fiddler by Marc Chagall

Fiddler on the Roof
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The story of a Jewish family in Russia at the time of the persecution and driving out of the Jews from their homes, this story focuses on the trials and tribulations of Tevye and his family of five daughters. The ups and downs of their love lives and the changes in their society that are challenging the structure and “Tradition” by which they all live. This is not a glamorous Hollywood style musical, but is heart warming and powerful nonetheless.

Much atmosphere is achieved by the attitudes of the characters and a lack of set or scenery does not detract from the story to any great amount, so this can therefore be a low budget show, at least as far as scenery and costumes go.

Oklahoma - (2)

Oklahoma the state

Oh What A Beautiful Morning!

What a fantastic song to start a show.....an empty stage and a lone voice. 

It's also a favourite for singing in the car as I set out in the morning, cheers me up for the whole day.

The music from Oklahoma! stays with you long after you leave the theatre, there are so many clever lyrics and catchy tunes that it almost impossible to pick out a single one. “The Surrey with a Fringe on top”, “Many a New Day” “I Cain't Say No” “Kansas City” and Oklahoma! Itself . I will end up listing them all if I carry on.

It is the show that for my society brought the most people ever to audition for roles, with as many going for Ado Annie as for Laurey, The audition committee had a whole day of auditions to judge for these two parts alone.

The setting is 1906, the year before Oklahoma became a State of the USA, and costumes are traditionally gingham dresses and checked cowboy shirts, which makes life a little easier for the wardrobe department, although there are many possible variations on this theme.

West Side Story

A real challenge for any society, West Side Story has everything, dancing, singing, love scenes, fight scenes, tragedy and comedy. So where to start? The first time I was privileged to be a part of the team performing this fantastic musical we started with 2 months of exercise and dance training, learning steps and upping our stamina to be able to cope with the rigours of this energetic show.

As with any amateur company we had differing levels of experience, some with all round “triple threat” talents, others learning all from scratch. I had been a dancer for a long time, but my principal training had been in ballet, and I had to learn the intricacies of back drops and rock and roll lifts, plus I had never learned to read music, so singing was also a new experience, especially the lovely harmonies required for the Quintet (Tonight).

I was lucky to take the part of Graziella (Riff's girlfriend) which meant I was included in the “Cool” number, (which position is swapped in the stage version to the film with Officer Krupke, so Riff sings it in Doc's store before the War Council) and part of the “Jets”. Even now I am surprised by how quickly one identifies with one's gang.

The second time I was in West Side Story I belonged to the Shark girls, and had to completely re-think my attitude even before starting rehearsals, almost to the point of deciding not to take part. Almost, but not quite, the pull of the show is such that I would sweep the stage just to be part of the production, so a small matter of changing sides isn't going to stop me.

The emotional connections made by immersing myself in rehearsals for 6-8 months at a time to the music and lyrics have stayed with me ever since, and I am often to be found quoting lines of dialogue or lyrics in all kinds of situations. “It's when I don't look that it happens” is a favourite taken in or out of context!

So much so that in rehearsals for other shows afterwards we ended up with a “Quotes” box (like a swear box) for every quote that did not belong to the current production. A small way of fund raising and maintaining concentration!

To be continued ...

Myra

If you have a story to share about West Side Story please add a comment or contact me via the website www.thedramaqueensdrawers.co.uk